Books published by publisher Alaska Northwest Books Jan - 2008

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Alaskan favorite Children of the Midnight Sun, the same author and photographer join again to collaborate on this new book Children of the First People to present the voices of a new generation of young Alaska Natives and how they celebrate their unique cultures and traditions.From the Southeast rainforest to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta tundra, to the reaches of the far north, Alaska Native kids live a life that mixes ancient traditions with modern culture. Inside this book you’ll find ten profiles accompanied by beautiful color photographs of kids of various ages and from diverse cultures and backgrounds, as well as a map and a glossary of Native terms. No other book for children delves into all ten Native cultures with expert authority, making Children of the First People a one-of-a-kind treasure.

From the beginning one puppy was different from the rest. He was big and black, his brother and sisters small and gray. While the others lay quietly snuggled against their mother, this puppy squirmed and wiggled constantly. So begins the inspiring true story of a puppy whose boundless energy almost got the best of him. Douggie: The Playful Puppy Who Became a Sled Dog Hero is Pam Flowers's tribute to the pup who seemed destined to remain the class clown. But Pam saw potential in this exuberant youngster, and Douggie's intelligence and persistence ultimately earned him the position of lead dog for a dangerous 325-mile expedition to the Magnetic North Pole. As the lead dog, Douggie lead the sled dog team on this exciting adventure traveling across the frozen sea of the far Canadian north for 18 days, surviving many challenges and returning home safely. Douggie went on to become a top lead dog and lead a subsequent trip of 2,500 miles.

At night, just as the moon climbs high, I make a wish that I could fly. Follow a child’s dreamy flight through the Arctic and discover the animals that live there, from the wolves prowling in the snow to the goats and sheep standing on the mountains to the walrus and sea lions lying on big glaciers. Told in singsong rhymes and colorfully illustrated with gorgeous linocut art, Dream Flights on Arctic Nights is a beautiful bedtime story for children to explore the Arctic before drifting off to sleep.

Young readers love following this inquisitive eight-year-old and his trusty dog, Neptune, on misadventures that are full of fun, humor, suspense, and natural history, geography, and other lessons in life. This exciting series continues with Sam dreading the looming first day of school where he fears his annual back-to-school essay about his summer's activities will not be as impressive as the know-it-all Melody Chambers's. For an end-of-summer adventure, Sam goes blueberry picking with his mom and best friend, Billy. He learns the hard way about safety and respect for wildlife when he has a face-to-face encounter with a bear cub, its protective mom close behind. Heroic Neptune saves the day as she protects her masters after they are chased back into their truck. Find out if this exciting turn of events will make Sam's essay a grand prize winner.

Discover the whimsical tale of friendship between one man and his gold pan, and their journey in the wake of the Gold Rush. Pedro and his pan go on an exciting adventure together—to strike gold! They hike mountains, whack through bushes, and wade through streams as they sift through dirt and gravel in search of the hidden nuggets. But as time goes by without any success, Pan begins to worry that he is broken. Will he and Pedro ever find what they're looking for? Inspired by the true story of Felix Pedro, a prospector who launched one of the richest gold rushes in Alaska’s history, Pedro's Pan offers a glimpse into American history as well as educates how gold panning works in a fun and exciting way.

Sojo the sled dog is born into a hardworking, talented family and starts life as a happy, trusting, and confident dog. But her confidence rapidly wanes as she begins to understand how complicated and challenging it is to be a sled dog. She fears that she will never learn how to do the job and is overshadowed by her sister, Anna, who is very smart and confident and gets all the glory. Reluctantly, she accepts that she is destined to be a sled dog, undergoes training, and much to her surprise, makes the team. When explorer Pam Flowers and the team set out alone across the arctic, Sojo’s self-confidence and pride in her work slowly grow. By journey’s end, she comes to realize that she has made a valuable contribution to the success of the adventure and is respected as a sled dog. When she retires, Sojo is a contented dog who understands that doing your best and being supportive of friends and family is what is most important.

The patience of a little musk ox is sorely tried when he suffers an itch that he cant scratch. Theres not a tree in sightnothing to rub against for reliefso he wanders away from the herd looking for a branch, a rock pile, anything. On his journey, he meets with three individuals: a buffalo, a wolf, and a Native woman. Through his interaction with each one, he learns something new and affirming about himself before returning to the herd. Endnotes include information about how musk ox were native to Alaska until they were decimated by hunters in 1865, then reintroduced in the early 1930s; biological/behavioral details about the animals; and info about the cottage industry among Native villages in which women knit the qiviut (KIV-ee-oot), the rare underwool, into beautiful, warm garments. Learn more two-page section provides facts and information about the animal and about qiviut, the softest wool in the world which comes from musk ox.

This is the moving story of high school students in an isolated village at the top of Alaska starting a football team. Against long odds the Whalers had to practice and play in extreme conditions and travel hundreds of miles from home when they went on the "road," flying for each game.They ended their first season victorious, while maintaining their subsistence hunter-gather culture.

Alaska is truly bear country. It is the only one of America’s fifty states to be inhabited by all three of North America’s ursine species: black, polar bear, and brown bear (also known as grizzly). Alaska’s Bears is a handy guidebook to the bears of Alaska, a book that slips easily into a jacket pocket or a day pack, and that provides entertaining armchair reading when you’re not in bear country.Here in one compact edition is a book that can help you understand Alaska’s bears and their natural histories. Learn about their appearances, behaviors, yearly cycles, ecological niches, and relationships with humans. Find full details on how to visit Alaska’s prime bear-viewing and get tips for traveling safely through bear country. Complementing Bill Sherwonit’s text are photographs from longtime Alaskan Tom Walker, a premier wildlife photographer who has spent hundreds of hours in the company of bears.

Follow precious Little Puffin through his first year of life as his parents protect and prepare him for life on his own. From the safety of the little chick’s nest to his clumsy attempts at flight, Van Zyle’s paintings depict Little Puffin’s adventures through a variety of perspectives, from close-up portraits to sweeping action scenes. Jonathan London’s lyrical prose imparts a reverence for wildlife, endearing the puffin chick—Sea Parrot, Underwater Acrobat, Clown of the Ocean—to the reader and creating a suspenseful read-aloud.